Quick answer
God is not neutral about direction. The wicked road repels Him, and He loves the person heading toward righteousness, which is a verse about travel rather than arrival.
Read both lines
Both halves name a road, not a résumé. The object of God's revulsion in the first line is "the way," the pattern and trajectory of a life, and the object of His love in the second is the one who "follows" righteousness, a pursuit word for someone chasing something not yet caught. That distinction matters enormously for how the verse lands. It does not say God loves those who have achieved righteousness, which would leave the honest reader outside; it says He loves the pursuer, the person still in motion toward it. This is a verse for people mid-road, and the direction of travel is what it measures.
From this side of the cross
The gospel answers the pursuit with a gift: righteousness is not only chased but received, credited to those who trust Christ. The pursuer turns out to be loved by a God who then hands over what was being pursued.
Related: Proverbs 21:21 · Romans 5:8
New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. Full copyright information. Scripture provided by API.Bible.
Go Deeper
If this verse has been used to put weight on you that it was never carrying, ask about it directly.